


there's nothing brave about being fearless

by anotherbuskitten



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Scooby Doo - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-22
Updated: 2017-06-22
Packaged: 2018-11-17 08:51:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11272104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anotherbuskitten/pseuds/anotherbuskitten
Summary: Shaggy's so used to being frightened that he doesn't think notice when it becomes less fearful and more like routine.





	there's nothing brave about being fearless

Shaggy can’t remember a time when he wasn’t scared. Like, he’s sure there was a time, probably when he was a baby – but babies cry a lot so he can’t be certain. He knows he did scream a lot as an infant because even in his earliest memories his parents were already used to his screaming and wouldn’t come to help. Like, not ever.

So he doesn’t remember if he was just a whiny baby or if he’s always been able to see the monsters.

When he’s eating he can ignore the fear, if only for the duration of the meal, and eventually even that stopped working. The food combinations get wilder and weirder; the more combinations in each meal, the more tastes he can focus on and pick apart, the more he focusses on the flavours, the less he focusses on the creepy things that no one else sees.

The first monster he remembers seeing was a ghost – he knows it isn’t the first he ever saw because he remembers knowing better than to point the ethereal being out to any grown-ups. It was however, the first time he ever interacted with one of the things.

He wanted to scream but he knew it wouldn’t do any good. He wanted look away but how could he? – He was the only person here who knew it was there, if he didn’t watch it it could do anything! He remembers being terrified to even blink in case something happened. Just because no one believed him didn’t mean he wouldn’t be responsible if something happened.

Nothing happened.

The ghost floated closer to him until they were almost touching. It flew through his mother like she was nothing. Shaggy shivered at the sight, even as his mother did the same.

When it reached him the ghost raised a hand to his face and he flinched so hard he fell backwards. When he got back up the ghost was gone.

He never stopped seeing the ghosts – other monsters as well but the ghosts were by far the most common.

He got used to them even if the fear never went away. The ones in his town at least he knew well enough that he could almost call him friends.

There was the old lady at the bus station who said he reminded her of her grandson. Shaggy remembered when she died; the body hadn’t been found for a month. He didn’t think much of her grandson.

The twin girls in his back yard who were identical except for the burn marks on one face. Shaggy pretended he couldn’t tell them apart because it always made them laugh.

Young John outside the record store who hummed tunes to Shaggy when he walked past on the way to school.

Great-aunt Ethel who taught him how to cook and gave him recipes and didn’t laugh when he called her mum by mistake.

James the tramp who jumped in front of a train is the most recent one. He’s flat like a cartoon with what’s left of his skin looking like it’s going to fall out. Shaggy feels safe around James despite his appearance. James is the first person to ever tell him that other people get frightened too.

The first proper monster he remembers meeting is the chimera that takes over the library one winter. It crashes in through a window and no one else even looks up. When it sees Shaggy looking it opens its mouth wider than should be possible to show off its shining teeth and sharp tongue. The authorities say it’s a rodent infestation that closes the building down.

/

Shaggy is seven when he when the witch comes to town. He knows better that to tell anyone why he’s scared of going to Miss Morgan’s class. Everyone at school already teases him about being afraid of his own shadow (and his reflection, and the dark, and raised voices, and the rain, and reading, and everything else).

Miss Morgan invites him round for cookies after school and he says yes ma’am without even really thinking about it. Be polite to your elders, dad always says.

Miss Morgan waits until he’s eating before speaking. Shaggy’s pretty sure she’s going to kill him or something terrible so he doesn’t feel scared of eating evil cookies.

“You’re scared of me.”

“Yes ma’am.” He answers even though there was no question when she spoke.

“You came in anyway.”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Why?”

Shaggy shrugs, and then sits up straighter in apology. “It’s polite.”

“I suppose it is. Have another cookie.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re a very special young man Norville.”

“It’s Shaggy.” He says, ignoring the first part of her sentence.

“Shaggy.” She says softly as though it’s a foreign word being said for the first time. “Have another.”

“Are you going to eat me ma’am?” Shaggy says taking another cookie eagerly; there’s an unfamiliar flavour hidden in it that’s bothering him.

“Of course not. Do you know Ethel Jordan?”

“She’s my great-aunt.” Was.

“She’s my sister.” Was. “I haven’t seen her in a very long time.”

“Do you, like, want to talk to her?”

“I’d like that very much Shaggy.”

 

It’s sad to say goodbye to his aunts but they look so happy when they walk away together, arm-in-arm. Shaggy stands in the garden for a long, long time.

 

 

On his eleventh birthday Shaggy’s parents give him the gift of responsibility. This gift comes in two distinct forms: the first (best) is a small, floppy dog with intelligent eyes and a big appetite. The second is two months alone while they go on a cruise holiday.

(The third gift comes four days later when a tall man appears on his doorstop and tells him he’s a wizard. He’d sort of known for a while but no one ever said anything concrete and Shaggy doesn’t want to be one of the monsters that scare him so much. He knows the wizard wants him to be excited so he smiles a little shakily and invites him in for coffee.)

(Shaggy’s parents come home to an empty house and a man who takes their memories of their son away. It doesn’t make too much of a difference.)

The family that adopts him doesn’t seem much better than his own except that they live in a big house and give him anything he wants. They don’t listen much but living with them means that he’s got a big brother.

Fred is nothing like the kids back at his old town. Shaggy doesn’t think Fred is much like anyone at all. When Shaggy says there’s a vampire living down the road from them Fred builds a trap instead of laughing. And when it works and Shaggy starts shaking Fred throws an arm over his shoulders and boasts about how smart he was to work it all out.

(Mr Derile never went outside in daytime, spoke with a slight lisp, and didn’t have a heartbeat. Shaggy doesn’t feel smart.)

September comes too quickly for Shaggy’s liking because even though he doesn’t feel quite at home with the Jones’ it’s better than the orphanage and he’s pretty sure that they’ll send him back when he turns out to be a bad wizard. Fred, after all, is pretty much the perfect son and Fred is a Gryffindor and Gryffindors are brave above all else. _Shaggy_ is afraid of his own shadow (and his reflection, and the dark, and raised voices, and the rain, and reading, and empty rooms, and spiders, and dying, and ghosts, and everything else). Fred gets the second highest marks in his year. _Shaggy_ has a slip of parchment saying that he’s allowed to have a dog because of the way his breathing gets shallow when he can’t see Scooby-Doo. Fred is on his house sports team and well on his way to being captain even though he’s only thirteen. _Shaggy_ is wondering if this school has a cooking club.

 

(The hat says he’s brave. The hat says he’s a Gryffindor. Shaggy has never felt less brave in his life with his sweaty palms and shaking legs and empty feeling where his heart should be that lessens when he peeks out from under the hat and sees a hoard of pale ghosts hovering near the ceiling.)


End file.
